2090 (Chapter 9)

 Chapter 8: Descent into Chaos

The tunnels beneath Changi were narrower than any they had traveled before—tight, damp, and riddled with collapsing supports. Every step echoed like a warning. Nathan led the way now, rifle raised, eyes scanning the shadows. Behind him, Lina checked her wristpad, her fingers dancing across the interface as she tracked Vera’s energy signature.

“She’s close,” Lina said. “But she’s masking her movement with noise from the relay. Smart. Dangerous.”

Jax snorted. “She always was.”

A pulse of blue light flickered down the tunnel ahead—then vanished.

They picked up speed.

The corridor opened into a larger chamber lined with rusted pylons and powered vents that still hissed occasionally with automated breath. At its center stood a control platform rising from a pool of stagnant water, its lights flickering to life as Vera stepped into view.

She wasn’t alone.

Six armed enforcers flanked her, each modified—augmented with tech Nathan hadn’t seen before. Plates of matte black armor. Reflex visors. Neural clamps.

“Welcome,” Vera said, voice amplified by the platform. “You made it further than I expected.”

Nathan stepped forward. “This ends now.”

Vera’s smile was sharp. “You’re right. But not in the way you hope.”

She touched a control panel. The chamber shuddered. Screens came alive along the walls, showing feeds from across the region—cities, oceans, ruins… and the sprawling, sunken remnants of Jakarta, now a vast black lake glittering with solar reflections.

“You can’t bring order to a drowning world with compassion,” she said. “You need something stronger.”

Jax fired the first shot. A warning.

The enforcers moved in a blur.

Nathan dove behind a pylon, firing back. Sparks flew. Lina ducked beside him, shouting coordinates. “The main relay’s behind her platform. If we can take it out, we shut down everything here!”

A blast tore through the side of the chamber. Part of the ceiling collapsed. Water gushed in.

“Jax!” Nathan shouted.

“I’ve got it!” Jax broke from cover, sprinting around the flank, drawing fire.

Nathan and Lina pushed forward. Vera’s voice rang out, cold and resolute. “You’re too late. The command’s already transmitted.”

But Lina was faster. She reached the relay terminal and slammed a disruptor charge into the port.

“No!” Vera screamed.

The chamber shook. Sparks flew. The enforcers faltered.

Nathan reached the platform and tackled Vera to the ground. The two crashed into the shallow water, grappling for control of the interface.

“Jakarta drowned because of people like you!” Vera shouted.

“No,” Nathan growled. “Because we stopped listening.”

Lina’s device beeped. “Relay disrupted. Signal lost.”

Vera froze.

Then came silence.

Outside, the skies began to clear—not fully, but enough to let the sun bleed through the clouds for the first time in months.

But the fight wasn’t over yet.

Because deep beneath the earth, the central core still waited. And Vera… wasn’t done.